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International Union of Bricklayers & Allied Craftsmen v. Meese
This decision comes closest to explaining why the skilled Korean workers at the Hyundai plant here on visa waivers (equivalent to a B-1 visa) were detained and deported.
The Foreign Affairs Manual (essentially a how-to manual for consular officers abroad considering visa applications) includes the following guidance:
Commercial or Industrial Workers
a. (U) An applicant coming to the United States to install, service, or repair commercial or industrial equipment or machinery purchased from a company outside the United States or to train U.S. workers to perform such services. However, in such cases, the contract of sale must specifically require the seller to provide such services or training and the visa applicant must possess unique knowledge that is essential to the seller’s contractual obligation to perform the services or training and must receive no remuneration from a U.S. source.
b. These provisions do not apply to an applicant seeking to perform building or construction work, whether on-site or in-plant. The exception is for an applicant who is applying for a B-1 visa for supervising or training other workers engaged in building or construction work, but not actually performing any such building or construction work.
Assume that Hyundai affiliates needed Korean engineers to help start up the battery plant in Georgia. What other visas might have been available to secure their admission to the US to work at the plant?
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